Local Leaders Sound Alarm on Plan to Eliminate Community Development Block Grant Funding

Local Leaders Sound Alarm on Plan to Eliminate Community Development Block Grant Funding

Host Conference Call with Reporters During National Community Development Week:

Wednesday, April 19th at 11:30 am ET

Washington, D.C. – During National Community Development Week, which runs from April 17-21 and highlights the accomplishments of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, mayors and local leaders will host a national press conference call on Wednesday, April 19th at 11:30 am ET to underscore the ability of CDBG funds to positively impact residents and transform communities.

Mayors and local leaders in communities large and small will show their support for the CDBG program, which has been slated for elimination in President Trump’s budget for next year FY 2018, via the following activities:

hosting local press events in support of preserving CDBG funding

issuing proclamations and press releases in support of National Community Development Week

inviting their Congressional delegations to see how CDBG funds have been used to positively impact residents and transform local communities

placing OpEds in local news outlets support of CDBG funding

signing onto a USCM mayoral letter to Congress in support of maintaining CDBG funding at $3.3 billion

incorporating the preservation of CDBG funding into social media messaging by using hashtag #Fight4CDBG during National Community Development Week and beyond

As the most flexible stream of federal dollars allocated directly to local governments that are used for broad purposes, Community Development Block Grants touch the lives of nearly every American in some fashion. Administered through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, CDBG funds reach more than 7,000 rural, suburban and urban communities, which rely on the funding to enhance the lives of residents, namely low and moderate income people, in a wide variety of ways, many innovative – including housing investments, public infrastructure improvements, enhanced public safety services, employment training, as well as services for seniors, youth and the disabled.